so many good good things!!i absolutely loved it! it was perfect and i normally dispise AU stuff. oh bravo bravo! i really cant think of the right wrods to say except wow! i haved always thought of leia and vader as my favorite two characters and the ending just brought a tear to my eye. so wonderful!

Ohmigosh! I was crying steadily from the point where Leia felt the shot that Luke had taken, all the way to Leia's, "Don't look back," but then my eyes started hurting, and I had to stop crying! That was wonderfully dark, a satisfying AU angst. Michael Stackpole has competition now. ;-) Write more!

THIS is what Star Wars: Infinities shoud have been if not Star Wars itself! The characters develop in a believable way from idealism to blindness in that idealism and finally into a clarity that most people never achieve. This is perhaps the best written Star Wars novella I have ever read. It would be nice to see this published as either a novel or a graphic novel...Congratulations on the authors for an EXCELLENT read!

I read this story a while ago on the boards, but I just wanted to pop in here to tell you how great it is. You nailed it all in this one: the characters, the story line, the dialogue, EVERYTHING. Great job guys, it's a truly awesome piece of fiction.

I thought the last one(by the grace of lady vader) was good, this one should be made into a movie. When Luke and Amldale (cant spell) died I almost cried. You thought my last raghting was high, this one gets a 62.

Simply amazing work. I could hear the soundtrack for all five movies playing at different times when reading this and By the Grace of Lady Vader. I was saddend to see Luke go the way he did but am very happy to see how the story ended. Or does it end here? Can you both write a third chapter to this saga? Don't stop writing!

I just spent the better part of a day and night reading this, and I'm sorry I waited so long. I was skeptical that the sequel could live up to the original, but as usual, Fern and a-p don't disappoint. A truly wonderful follow-on and a fantastic series.

A worthy sequel to 'By the grace of Lady Vader' indeed. But I have some minor grips with it:

Although I enjoyed reading it, I have to say that this story really made me hate Leia, not even her actions at the end made me change my mind about it. (For most of the story I felt her as a stubborn, spoiled teenaged brat trying to rebel against her parents because they won't let her date the skater she met at school.)

Perhaps Leia's motivation was founded on higher motives, but for me it didn't feel so, I couldn't help but to pity the rebellion as they got stuck with a leader as insane as Padme is in this story.

This story had me on the edge of my seat even more so than 'By the Grace of Lady Vader.' The writing was very professional, except for a few minor typos and misspellings (there are not three e's in 'Wookiee'). The only reason I wouldn't award it a perfect ten is the same reason I sat crying in front of my computer -- you killed Luke! That scene was unbelievably moving, though, and reinforced the quality of the entire story. In hindsight, I'm glad I didn't read the reviews or scan to the end of the story beforehand -- I probably would've skipped reading this sequel had I known the outcome, and therefore missed out on a truly classic fanfic. Kudos to the authors!

:p Yeah, I know about the Wookieees. I spotted one "Wookie" on a quick run through and did a search-and-replace without thinking. It did replace Wookie with Wookiee, but it also replaced Wookiee with Wookieee. Didn't notice it until it was up! My fault all the way.

Wow! What can I say! I am speechless! I absolutely loved this story. I cried my eyes out when Luke died and cried just as much when Amidala decided to leave Ani and Leia behind for the greater good. This is as good and (IMHO) is better than "By the Grace of Lady Vader". You two are amazing writers who brought out the best of each of the characters. Truly wondeful masterpiece!!! I hope you both continue writing more great stories. BTW....this is one of my absolute favorite fanfiction stories and one of the best ones I've read and believe me, I've read tons of them!

*Bows to the writers*thank you for the ending its set my mind at ease after reading TGOLV and how i thought it seemed like everything went wrong. You started strong and ended better , truly a work that should be put in at lest paper back if possible.thank you again for the wonderfull work you created and finsihed.

I couldn't agree with Admiral Drake more. By the end of the last story I loved it all, but I didn't view it as complete. Things just couldn't end in such a horrible way. But this one was so good in all the right places. I had said last time that it felt very much like a medieval kind of tale, with the family centered betrayals and such. But this sequal really brought the whole tale up to that epic level and gave much of the Star Wars back to the telling. The only complaint I had is that this tale didn't stick as closely to the films. I realize we had gone so far from the original trilogy it migh thave been hard, but I loved seeing the directs paralells in the story. On the other hand, the first one didn't make me cry, either! I realize writing another sequal with the same epic feel will be difficult with the galaxy living happily ever after and all, but it would be fascinating to see more Anakin after his dramatic ending in this tale. Well, thank you both for your hard work!

My home computer wasn't talking to the server, so I'm only just now commenting on this, even though I finished it weeks ago. *grins*

This was phenomenal. I've never read anything like it. I'm not a weepy kind of person - I've only seen one movie that made me cry (The Anne Frank TV movie - the very ending, when Pim looks at her bedroom wall and just slides to the floor, broken.), although I've been utterly moved on numerous occasions. *takes a deep breath*

I was, then, understandably shocked when I felt my eyes burning when Padme gave Ani her final goodbye. I waited for the sensation to pass, but it only intensified. I shook my head at my foolishness and continued reading, only to feel a drop slide down my cheek. I didn't exactly burst into racking sobs, but the tightness in my throat never went away. When Padme...killed herself, I could FEEL how it must have been.

I will say that I liked "By the Grace of Lady Vader", but I really LOVED "The Ascension of the Queen". It really should be made into a proper novel! ;) The attention to detail and the italic comments/flashbacks etc., were pretty well spot on for Phantom and Clones, as well as a few other sources too I believe.

I must also add, that I was literally crying when my very favourite Padme said her goodbyes to Anakin/Vader and then again when she left her message for the galaxy. I was really hoping Anakin/Vader would get with the program and fix Han's ship and save her... :( However Padme's sacrifice only added to the emotional content of the story, made it complete.

It was so well written and so believable, I sincerely recommend it to anyone with a liking for the Alternative universe and those who would like to Padme live after EpIII.

I enjoyed both the original 'By The Grace of Lady Vader' and the sequel. Both stories were very well written and plausible. I have to admit I was choked up at the ending. I loved the interaction between Vader and Padme too.

But one question, why did you insist on referring to Padme as Amidala? I realize there was some confusion after TPM came out but now we know that Amidala was a LAST name, not a first name, and that all elected rulers took on a symbolic/honorary new last name when they took the thrown. Throughout AOTC, Anakin called her Padme, which was her first name. The incorrect (imo) usage was a bit annoying and kept pulling me out of the story. I could almost buy non-family calling her Amidala (though why they would when her true name for the story was Lady Vader, I don't know) but Anakin calling her that? It just doesn't wash.

It doesn't appear to be a last name, but a formal name. Her last name is Naberrie (now Skywalker, according to the official site), so she is Padme Naberrie, Amidala of Naboo. Amidala is a single name, but a given one, not a patronym substitute. Because the relationship between the Vaders and their function in these stories is generally at a formal, adult level, she retains her formal, adult name, except in their final scene together, when he reverts to the name he used in their youth together.

Besides, "Grace" was written between TPM and AotC, and the Amidala name was embedded. It continued to seem the most appropriate form of address because of the tone of the story, so we continued with it.

Wow! I'm speechless! There's so many twists here, so dark and hard to see what's right and wrong... so many good guys doing ugly things...The ending was totally unexpected, yet it strangly makes total sense that Amidala should have commited suicide. It was a great fic!

Incredible this was so good. It was sad when Luke and Amidala died. You did a great job with the caracters dealing with the emotion. And the ending was great Leia becoming Empress and Vader doing the surgury and going to see the force sencitive boy. As well as the part when Leia told her father not to look back. this is my favorite. I have been telling my friends about this one. And if you wanted to you could do a sequel for this one. Once again great job and keep them coming.

"Grace"" was good but this is better.Leia made me cringe tho. I disliiked her conduct. Surprisingly I really enjoyed Luke, and that is quite rare as I find him boring mostof the time. The death scene was really well done.

Both in Ascenscion and Grace I enjoyed Vader. I'm a big fan so I was very pleased that he had such a big part. I really liked the way his troubled spirit was shown.

Curious enogh I found myself feeling sad about Amidala's death. I don't like her so this was as much a surprise to me as Luke.

I really felt that the ccharacters had more depth than in the movies. This is how Infinities should be and maybe even how the EU should be written.

FernWithy, this story just goes to prove once again that Star Wars Fanfiction is best done by Boston library workers. (No bias there.) This was an amazing story. I loved the twist of Leia having the mechanical hand instead of Luke, Yoda training her, and especially who you chose to die and to live. I actually cried when it came to Luke dying and was on the verge of it when Amidala did, but I didn't have as much emotional attachment to her. I was so addicted to this story that I covered the entire thing in a single sitting. You are truly amazing, and I wish you would come and write more!

Ami-Padme, I'm sorry to have left you out of that first commentary. You continue to inspire me. It was you and JG that brought me to even look at the JC boards and I've been reading faithfully ever since. You are indispensible!

This is one of the finest fanfictions that i have ever read. The character izatiob was incredible - this is one of the few stories that i've read were Vader's love for his children and change of heart seemed genuine. Both death scenes were very powerful, and i found myself with a burning throat and a few tears at both luke and amidala's passing. I always thought that it was very clever how you incorporated the name confussion between episode 1 and 2 into having symbolic meaning when amidala finally becomes 'padme' again. This will remain a favourite for a long time to come!cheers

FernWithy, ami-padme, these stories are just in another league to most fanfics. There are a lot of excellent fanfics out there, but this is outstanding. I liked Grace, but Ascension was even better! One of the things I love most about fanfiction is that genuinely talented writers like yourselves willingly write and share your superb work. The Star Wars fandom isn't run on the desire to make money like the franchise, but on love for the GFFA. And that love shows itself in the great majority of fanfics, yours being no exception.

I loved the way you conveyed the hopelessness of the Rebels, trying to fight a regime that seemed so good and was so popular. I also loved the way nothing was black and white. There was no way we could hate either of the Vaders, because Lord Vader was so honourable and sensitive in his own way, and the Empress was . . . "fragile." And we couldn't like Leia 100% either, because she was by no means perfect.

Luke's death scene was so poignant, and so sensitively written. And I think you handled the suspence of the missile very well. We the audience were the only people that knew both that it was on its way, and that the Empire was being healed.

The poor Skywalker family! I loved how Vader and Leia were reconciled at the end, and how it was clear throughout the saga that they loved each other, and also how that love developed.

That was spectacular. Even better than the first, something I would have thought impossible. I absolutely loved it!!!!! I especially loved the thought of Anakin being the one to restore the Jedi Order. It is very fitting. I have thought of many alternate universe stories, but nothing like this. It contantly suprised me. I never expected Luke's death, or that Padme' would sacrifice herself. I can't say enough how much I liked it! I have to agree, you should be working for George Lucas. I hope that you will PLEASE write another one! I can't wait to find out what happens next! May the Force be with you.

really nice. i think it probably beats the first book! should make it a movie or publish it.could you pleez email me at limjiaying112yahoo.com.sg if you write another story? the only flaw in the book is that there are too many disgusting parts.i'm only 11, you know! other than that, marvellous

I like your AU Star Wars better then the original. There is so much more emotion evoked and I had tears rolling down my cheeks since Luke’s death. They finally stopped when Anikan chose not to look back and realized that death is not the end.

I loved how you had Amidala reconnect with herself. The various ‘versions’ that she betrayed was a wonderful touch and truly explained her ascent from madness. Which reminds me, I love how both your titles have oh so many meanings. They reflect on the depth of stories.

Another lovely ascent was that you didn’t have Piett kill himself. It would have been so easy to give into guilt and despair and commit suicide… but the fact that you chose for him to live just reemphasizes the theme of redemption. Poor Piett, but there is hope for him. You may have obliterated “all you need is love” and “love conquers all”, but you left us with “as long as there is life, there is hope” and that does make me feel better.

But the highlight (and a needed respite from the tears) was reading Han and High Admiral in the same sentence. I couldn’t help but give an un-Ladylike snort at that image. Strangely fitting, but amusing nonetheless.

OK I admit it I haven't read the whole thing yet but before you stop reading my reviwe I promis that if I have miss-juged or miss-interpreted some thing I will write a retraction of what I have said when I finish it. But here is what I've noticed. One I find it extreenly dificult to beleve that Padme & Luke turn to the dark side. (and especily Luke) Two I find it even harder to beleve that Mon Mothma ataced Padme. Three I find it even harder to beleve that luke killed her. And four I found that it semmed the only charicters you used were Han & Leia the rest you used the names of the charicteers but not the caricteristics. I read the reviws and thought it would be much better that I have found it to be so far. I must say I injoyed "By the Grace of Lady Vader" much better.

This story has truly inspired me. Luke and trains with his father and he learns. It reminds me alot of when I was in school and I would start to learn something and then learn it. Of course I did not learn to be a jedi but sometimes we climbed up the rope thing and that felt like jedi training. I like that in this story vader still has his armor but I wonder what he looks like at the end when he gets that stuff done. I also like everything about this story. It jsut like the other story has alot of warmth and warmth is so important to a story. This story made some people cry and I thought I was going to cry to. But then my dog peed on the carpet and so I got mad and couldnt cry. When I got back to my computer I tried to but it just wasnt the same. this story is great with the warmth and with the learning and the armor

Absolutely fabulous! If you have or in the future write any more along this vein I would be honored to beta read it if you would like, or if you have a beta already, just to know when you decide to post more. This is by far my favorite fan fiction that I've seen on this or any other site for that matter. Please keep writing. You are tremendously talented.

I don't think I can quite convey just how completely impressed I was by this fanfiction. Fanfiction is such a misnomer, something which so many people consider so trivial, that to come across a masterpeice like this one was brilliant. Reading something as awesome as this justifies the amount of time I waste over the internet - because surely something good came out of reading this, and the love and time and effort you put into writing this is appreciated.

To add my inane platitudes to others which have come before, "Grace", though brilliantly realised in itself, was just far from being on par with "Ascension". I think my problems with appreciating "Grace" was the level of familiarity/parallels with the original movie, especially for the first half - I thought most of it unnecessary once it had been established that this was the same universe with one difference. Slowly diverging from the Canon universe was cleverly done, but the detail and the lack of ... unpredictability... annoyed me and hindered my enjoyment. The mirroring in "Ascension" (with Leia's hand being replaced, the Tuskens and Vader, Tatooine) was far more effective in linking this with the movies, and likening itself to how GL works (I do believe he's taken arm amputations to a new level with III, however - there are 9 humanoid arms chopped off through the saga, and probably ten thousand droid arms).

*grin* I've just finished a unit of work on Shakespeare's 'King Lear' being realised through different readings in different contexts, and I must say that the Christian-Redemptive, Family-focused spin you've put on Star Wars in this fic is highly clever, and exactly what I personally needed to see from the SW universe. Canon just never quite cut it when it came to the portrayal (and now, fall) of Anakin/Vader, and these two fics have filled that gap admirably. The renewal of Anakin by the end was brilliant, it pushed all the right buttons inside, and seemed like a far better step towards 'Bringing Balance to the Force' than the events of Episode VI. The events surrounding Vader, his thoughts, his facial expressions behind the mask, were some of the best Vader-centric anything I have ever read, and the level to which I was able to identify and sympathise with his internal conflicts (especially around the Tuskens) was breathtaking.

On the same note, I don't think I've ever had the (twisted) pleasure of reading something which is quite so jarring on the emotional/family level. Although my mother never planned to take over the galaxy (she works within too small a microcosm for that), the repercussions of the events, the family conflict, the relationships were completely believable and invoked unusually strong empathy in me at least, and my identification with family strife in this setting was far greater than in a family reading of Lear. To have such complete characterisations, only resorting to platitudes from Yoda once, was truely remarkably well thought out and realised.

I enjoyed the ways you turned on our expectations of good/evil and blurred these so throughly (even if you did restore a happy, redemptive ending for "Ascension" as you didn't in "Grace") - pointing out the faults of the Rebellion and the Empire in the same breath wasn't something which Lucas brought himself to do, and seeing these things addressed was both brilliant and refreshing.

I've now used the word 'brilliant', which this fic is, a few too many times. And, of course, it's now 1am and I need to be up at 6 to get to school on time, so my efforts to truely show my appreciation for this fic must be cut short. It's already idling in my favourites list, and I'm sure I'll appreciate this fic all the more when I come back to it in a few months.

Thank you for such a wonderful experience, FernWithy and Ami-Padme, it was remarkable.

All I can say is that this is one of the, if not the, best Star Wars-related story I've ever read. It was plausibly done, well-written, and so forth.

What I'll say I like the most about it is this: As a fan of Anakin's, it's great to see him honestly get some time to actually know and love his family. It's a chance I, for some reason, felt that he deserved. And I was truly glad for him to have it. It was also satisfying to see him get to redeem himself by rebuilding the Jedi.

But above all, quite possibly the greatest thing which you accomplished was showing that the Rebellion wasn't necessarily the only way in which the galaxy could be reformed. At the end of your first story, the Rebels looked, in my eyes, like fools for being unwilling to negotiate. In this story, I honestly feel that they wound up looking like blind ideologues, unwilling to negotiate with a government that hardly had the cruelty of Palpatine's empire, and which, to all appearances, was genuinely willing to come to the table and negotiate.

I'm glad Anakin redeemed himself in this story. I'm sorry that he had to go through so much pain to reach such a point, notably in losing Luke and Padme. But there's something I find deeply satisfying seeing him, at the end, get the chance to be both the father and the Jedi which he always had the potential to be.

I honestly regret looking at a single comment before I finished the story...but it was still impressive having seen one. There's something that feels very 'right' about this story...the conclusion feels somehow better for the galaxy as a whole than the original trilogy did...but maybe that's just me.

I am overwhelmed after reading both stories, overwhelmed. I have never quite felt this way reading a fan fiction. I cried more than I thought possible, I could feel the tragedy unfolding so clearly, it was painful. The ending, although extremely sad and poignant felt true and right. To see Anakin, back, redeemed, and being the one to recreate what he had destroyed felt right. thank you !

I must say I really enjoyed reading this fanfiction and it's prequel. However as it got near the end, it seemed as if attitudes changed. Leia lost her desire to fight against her family. Han, who has always seemed to be a strong willed type, also caved. And when you consider how earlier you had Padme go ballistic and blow up Admiral Ozzel's ship for shooting at the Millenium Falcon, you would think that she would have wanted to have all the Rebels wiped out for killing Luke. Up until that point it was absolutely amazing, but afterwards it left me rather confused and a bit disappointed.

I sobbed at Luke's death and the family's grief (the scene where Leia thinks of their twinship and hugs his body, and then Amidala's loss when his bright blue eyes are closed for the last time!) and then again shed some tears for Amidala's magnificent departure! Extremely well written.

I liked very much this "parallel universe" where the Empire and New Republic combine at the end. Mind you, I wasn't a fan of killing Luke (he's my favorite fictional character - in ALL of literature), but it worked well for the basis and development of the story. Vader's return to Anakin was smartly written as well (and I couldn't help but smile broadly at the idea of Lando as Chancellor.) Well done, and I hope that you lend your talents to writing more fanfics. Can I merely make the request that you not kill Luke in the next one. I simply couldn't handle it again!

I'm quite late to the part. I finished "By the Grace of Lady Vader" early this morning and rushed straight on to this. I'm not finished with this one yet, but I have such an overwhelming thought about Lady Vader's rule that I need to share it so I can stop thinking about. It makes me think of Lord of the Rings, and Galadriel's description of her reign if she had the ring, especially her declaration that "all shall love me and despair!" I find this vision of Padme fascinating.

(This is the full quote in case it slips your mind at the moment: "In the place of a Dark Lord you would have a Queen! Not dark but beautiful and terrible as the Morn! Treacherous as the Seas! Stronger than the foundations of the Earth! All shall love me and despair!")